A calmer Myndgard

Myndgard Share is used by students who are already in counselling at their university, and by the counsellors who support them. Students know the app simply as Myndgard. Over recent months we have redesigned both the app and the counsellor portal, and alongside the new design we have published an updated privacy policy, version 2.0.0, which takes effect on 13 October 2026.

This post explains what has changed and why. Everything below is described in that policy or on the Share page; we have tried not to say anything more than it does.

A quieter design

Someone opening a mental health app is often already tired or worried. We wanted the app to feel calm when they do.

The new design uses a softer palette, more space and fewer things competing for attention. The home screen shows everything for today in one place: the student's latest PHQ-9 and GAD-7 results with a plain-language severity band, and anything their counsellor has asked them to complete. Questionnaires show one question at a time with four answer options, and a summary with the score and severity band appears as soon as the student finishes.

Scores are screening measures. They are not a diagnosis.

Consent you can change, purpose by purpose

The first time a student signs in, the app explains what Myndgard does with their information and asks for consent purpose by purpose, rather than in one block.

Two purposes are needed for the service to work at all: processing the student's health information, and sharing it with their assigned clinicians. Without those there is nothing for Share to do, so a student cannot use Myndgard without them. Other purposes are genuinely optional and off unless the student chooses them.

Any consent can be withdrawn at any time in Settings → Privacy & consent. Withdrawing stops that processing from then on.

Export and delete, in the app

Students can now act on their main data rights themselves, without emailing anyone:

Export my data gives them a copy of the information we hold about them, in a machine-readable format.
Delete my account deactivates the account immediately and signs them out everywhere. Thirty days later, all of their personal data is permanently erased. During those 30 days they can change their mind by contacting support.

Both are in the app under Profile, and in the portal under Account settings → Privacy. After erasure we keep only a record that consent was given and withdrawn, with the student's identity removed, because we must be able to show that consent was obtained.

Health sync is optional and off by default

On iPhone, students can choose to sync steps, workouts and sleep from Apple Health, so that they and their counsellor can see how activity and rest relate to their wellbeing. It is off unless the student turns it on, and it rests on its own explicit consent, separate from everything else.

Notifications that don't reveal anything

Push notifications are optional. When they are on, their content is kept generic, for example "You have a new message", so that nothing about a student's health appears on a lock screen. The same applies to service emails.

Safety

Myndgard is not an emergency service. Every check-in screen shows crisis support (Samaritans on 116 123, text 50808, and 112 for emergencies), and the university's own emergency contacts are listed in the app. When a questionnaire answer indicates risk, such as thoughts of self-harm, the student's assigned clinician is alerted so that a person can follow up. These alerts support the clinician's judgement; they do not make decisions on their own. Alerts and messages are not monitored around the clock.

What has not changed

Student data is stored in the EU, in Ireland. All traffic is encrypted, and clinical content such as questionnaire answers, notes, messages and journal entries is additionally encrypted in our database with separately managed keys.
Only the clinicians assigned to a student can see their information, and that access ends when they are no longer assigned. Access to patient information is logged.
There is no advertising, third-party analytics or tracking in the app or portal, and we do not sell student data.
We do not use artificial intelligence or large language models to process anyone's information.
Myndgard is for adults. Students must be 18 or over, and Share is invitation-only through their university.

What this means for counselling services

For counsellors, the portal works as before: a caseload view with recent scores and check-ins, questionnaire history and trends for each student, and alerts when an answer indicates risk. What changes is mostly on the student's side, and it is worth a few minutes at a first session to explain it: what the counsellor will see, which parts are optional, and that the student can change their consent, export their data or delete their account whenever they like.

The full detail is in the privacy policy and terms of service. If you have questions about the update, please get in touch.

If you're struggling: Samaritans 116 123, text 50808, or 112/999 in an emergency.